Timor-Leste's foreign minister Jose Luis Guterres was in Canberra this week and met two men who are working hard to ensure those toilets are built, Neville Tomkins OAM from Scouts Australia and Jeremy Lasek from Centenary of Canberra.

"Eighty per cent of our schools don't have proper sanitation, not only in Dili but all around the country," Mr Guterres told 666 ABC Canberra Drive presenter Adam Shirley.

"These are issues that you can explain by the history that Timor has endured over many years. In 1999 almost all of the infrastructure was destroyed and we have to do a lot of [work] - with the support of the international community, Australia and other countries - to reconstruct the many buildings that were destroyed."

Scouts Australia is working with Dollars for Dili to improve the schools' sanitation and develop a Scouts program for Timor-Leste. Neville Tompkins OAM is managing the projects and has visited the country five times.

"In my first trip I have to confess that I was really quite distressed to see the extent of the poverty and also to see the loss of opportunities for young people in that beautiful country," he said.

"In such poor conditions girls and young women do not attend school. As a result they do not receive the same education [and] as a result of that they don't have the same job prospects."